


Winter Blossoms

by ReadingDeer64



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: But feelings are hard, Christmas Fluff, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gift Exchange, POV Link (Legend of Zelda), POV Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Past and Present, Post-Calamity Ganon, Romance, They love each other, Two Shot, botw extra memory, especially when you're the main characters, holiday fic, link and zelda exchange gifts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:33:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReadingDeer64/pseuds/ReadingDeer64
Summary: Before confronting Calamity Ganon, Link gets caught in a memory.  Weeks after their victory, Zelda spends the Solstice with Link in Hateno.  Neither of them is whole, but perhaps together, they can learn how to be.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 36





	Winter Blossoms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Link sat with the stone tower against his back, reveling in this spare moment of peace. He’d managed to find one of the only places on the ruined grounds of Hyrule Castle where he could sit without a laser pointed at his head. Over his two visits to the castle, he managed to find a few special spots like this one. Link would use them to recuperate and plan out his next moves. The castle was a maze, and he’d yet to explore all of it. He kept a hand-drawn map crumpled in his pocket, adding to it whenever he found a new part of the castle. The map the Sheikah Slate gave him wasn’t marked, so he thought it would be a good idea to keep his own copy. Though he had no need for it now. His destination was a mere twenty feet above his head.

Princess Zelda’s study rested atop the tower. Link was glad it hadn’t been destroyed. So many of the castle’s towers had been turned to rubble—either due to Calamity Ganon’s initial attack or natural events over the last one hundred years.

One hundred years. Each time Link remembered how long he’d been asleep, a shiver crawled up his spine. Was he really one hundred and seventeen years old? One hundred eighteen? He hadn’t thought to ask Impa or Purah when he saw them last.

One hundred years asleep. He was the Hylian Champion, the fated hero, and he’d failed. He still wasn’t sure _how_ he’d fallen in battle, but he could only assume it was something terrible. It made him queasy not knowing the details, especially when he observed the many scars across his body. Most of his scars he didn’t know the stories of. 

He turns and presses his forehead against the cold stone. The cold season had arrived a few weeks ago, and slowly winter consumed Hyrule. Central Hyrule had yet to see snow, but Link knew it would soon. 

The coolness was helping the throbbing of his head, but it was doing little to ease the pain in his heart. So he practices an exercise Paya had mentioned to him. Though she had been using it to ease her stutters, Link had found that the technique helped his...episodes. 

_Ten._ He slept for one hundred years, which is ten decades.

_Nine._ The number of memories he’d recovered that weren’t ones Princess Zelda had left him, bits and pieces of himself scattered throughout Hyrule. The memories triggers were random. Sometimes all it took was the light shining through the window just the right way, or his fingers brushing over a tree’s leaves.

_Eight_. The number of months since he’d awoken from the Shrine of Resurrection. Those eight months had passed so slowly. He rarely slept more than a few hours, so the days dragged into each other.

_Seven._ There have been seven Blood Moons since he left the Great Plateau. Each one had brought him an insurmountable load of annoyance.

 _Six._ The six races: Rito, Zora, Hylians, Gerudo, Sheikah, and Gorons. Each had settled in a special place in Link’s heart. He would save Hyrule for them.

 _Five._ The five Champions of Hyrule. Himself, Mipha, Revali, Daruk, and Urbosa. They’d been his friends long ago. He thought about them constantly, always with a tint of guilt. It felt wrong to claim them as his friends when he remembered so little about them.

 _Four._ The number of seasons in a year. Link had experienced three of them so far. He was eager to finally see spring once winter lifted its cold grasp.

 _Three._ The three Golden Goddesses: Nayru, Farore, and Din. Link tried not to think of them much. He didn’t want to become overconfident if he believed that three all-powerful beings were backing him. For all he knew, the gods have long since fallen asleep and he is fighting this war alone.

 _Two._ He had two parents, even if he didn’t remember them. Not one of his cut and pasted memories contained any information about them. All he had were fleeting dreams and his own wishes.

 _One._ There is one Link. Often, he found himself purposely separating his consciousness from the Link of one hundred years ago, as if they were two different people. But no, they were on in the same. Link takes a deep breath. _I am me._

After one more breath, Link pulls himself away from the tower wall. His headache had subsided and the pain in his heart had numbed. He wouldn’t wait for them to go away—they never did. Finding a notch in the stone, Link begins to climb.

It doesn’t take him long to reach the top. The first time it had taken him about five minutes. This time, he reaches the bridge in three.

Link tosses his body over the rim of the bridge’s wall and bolts straight for the princess’s study. He knew better than to wait out in the open. Sooner or later, the Guardian Skywatcher would circle around the tower and scan the archway for intruders. He preferred not to be the target of its beam.

Princess Zelda’s study hadn’t changed since his last visit. There is still a pile of rubble in the corner from which a silent princess blooms. Link could never bring himself to pick it, all too aware of the irony. The rest of the room was in better condition than Link had expected. Besides the dust and decayed plants, most of the furniture and glass bottles remained intact. Though Link hadn’t bothered to tidy up. Some part of him knew that Princess Zelda would prefer to do it herself.

Link stiffens. Right, Princess Zelda. It had taken him eight months, but he was ready. The Divine Beasts were in position and the Champions' spirits were freed. He’d reclaimed the Master Sword. He’d found each of the memory locations on the slate (with Pikango’s help), though he had yet to report that to Impa. He thought he’d surprise her by returning with the princess. 

Yes. He would save Princess Zelda today.

Link runs a hand through his bangs. He wasn’t scared to fight Calamity Ganon. Rather, he was exhilarated. One hundred years ago, he never had the chance to fight Ganon.

He was nervous though. He would see her again, in a few short hours. He knew what she would ask.

His gaze swivels across the study again. Test tubes. Old sketches. Wilted plants that had once thrived. She was here with him now, in this room. Link twists his hands together. 

_He remembers her. He remembers himself._

He repeats that mantra twice more before setting the matter aside. First, Ganon.

Link turns swiftly, stepping out onto the archway the moment the circling Guardian disappears. Something flutters before his eyes and lands on the bridge of his nose. Snow. 

It was snowing on the archway between Princess Zelda’s study and bedroom. That realization was all it took. Link blinked, and when he opened his eyes, the castle wasn’t in ruins anymore.

~~~

Link clung to the shadows. He hated how much he felt like a bandit, but this was the only way he could get into the princess’s chambers after dark. Two guards were stationed at her door tonight, allowing him a night of “rest.” In actuality, he’d requested the replacements so he could sneak into her room. Were his actions criminal? Maybe. But his intentions were pure.

He landed steadily on the archway between the princess’s bedroom and study. Light snow was descending upon the castle. It was truly a magnificent sight. The snow was comforting. It made him think of holidays at his grandparents’ village in Tabantha and evenings curled in a blanket with his sister.

Link allows himself a moment to reminisce before pushing the memories out. He had a mission to accomplish.

He knocked twice on her door. A few seconds later, it swings open. Princess Zelda stands in the doorway in a dressing robe, a surprised smile on her face. Link’s breath seizes, but he manages to keep his composure. He wondered how the princess seemed to grow more beautiful each time he saw her.

“Come inside, Link, before you catch a cold.” She steps back, beckoning for him to enter. “Or is the Hero of Hyrule immune to the weather?”

“I wish,” Link mutters, teeth clattering.

He stiffly follows the princess inside and down the stairs. To his relief, there is a roaring fire in her fireplace. With a sigh of relief, Link collapses into one of the two armchairs.

Somewhere behind him, Zelda giggles. Then, he feels her arms drape around his neck. He nearly jumps out of the armchair. Thankfully, he realizes that she is simply draping a blanket around him.

“You’re acting like my mother.”

“I’m simply taking care of my knight,” She explains with a shrug. “If you caught a cold, we both would be stuck inside these walls for days.” With a huff, the princess collapses into the chair across from his. “Though I suppose it matters not. I will not be leaving this castle in the next few days anyway.”

Link nodded in acknowledgment. The next few days were the Winter Festival. Four days dedicated to the gods. Four days that the princess would spend surrounded by the foul members of her father’s court. He knew she dreaded the festival. Preparations had consumed much of the last few weeks, and the princess had voiced her displeasure on multiple occasions.

“So,” the princess starts, “What were you doing on my archway at such a late hour? You’re off duty tonight, I thought you’d seize the opportunity to rest.”

“I did rest,” Link thinks of the quick nap he’d taken after being dismissed hours earlier.

“You just can’t sit still, can you?” Princess Zelda chuckles.

“Neither can you, it seems,” Link nods towards the desk in the corner of her room. Though not as crowded as the one in her study, it is clear that the princess had spent the last few hours pouring over tomes and adding to her notes.

The princess turns her gaze to the fireplace. “I am simply heeding the duke’s words.”

Link’s palms flatten and press against his knees. He hoped she had not taken her uncle’s words to heart, but it seems that that was the case. Duke Bosphoramous of Faron had arrived at the castle with a slew of other noble guests just in time for Winter’s Festival. And just a few hours ago, he’d voiced his opinions on his niece’s training during the welcome ball.

It wasn’t often Link found himself cursing the oaths he’d made to the crown. But as he watched from the edge of the room as the duke snidely picked apart Zelda’s confidence—no one, not even her father, stepping in.

_Not Zelda_ , he reminded himself. _The Princess of Hyrule. Heir to the Throne. Your charge._

At least, that’s what she had been months ago. Now though? 

Link watched her as she studied the fire. Her brows were scrunched as she sorted through her thoughts, an expression Link had always thought was adorable. And even after the events of the evening, her eyes still glimmered in that way that was uniquely _her_. 

She was more than his liege. She was his...friend. Hence, his reasons for sneaking into her chambers.

“It’s the Solstice, Princess,” Link says, his voice soft. “Don’t let the duke’s words haunt you.” 

The Princess draws her gaze away from the fire, a washed-out smile on her face. “I should be numb to them after all this time. But it still hurts. Even if I somehow manage to awaken my powers in time for the Calamity’s arrival, they will continue to tear me apart once I become the queen.”

“You'll do what you’ve always done,” Link leans forward, his lips inching into a smile. “Prove them wrong.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” the princess scoffs, “We still have to—”

“Nope. Don’t say it.”

“But—”

“Please, Princess. It’s the longest night of the year, don’t spend it fretting.” Link hopes his words are as warm as he intends them to be. “I have faith in you, remember that. So many within your kingdom look to you as their light—sadly you’re constantly surrounded by those who’d rather tear you down.”

“You’re speaking an awful lot tonight,” Princess Zelda raises an eyebrow. “Thank you. Your words are so much kinder than I deserve.”

Link decides not to pursue an argument. In his eyes, she deserved a whole slew of kind words and so much more. “Trust me, Princess. I grew up in the countryside. Every last person in my village has the utmost faith in you.”

The princess smiles, though there are still shadows behind her eyes. She brushes them away however in a matter of moments. If Link wasn’t so aware of her, he would have missed it.

“Since you’re here, sir knight, I suppose I can give you your gift.” A sly smile replaces her distant one.

“Gift?” Link repeats. “For me?”

“Well of course,” the princess deadpans. “Who else?”

Quickly, she rises from her chair and dashes to the nightstand beside her bed. In moments she returns, her eyes are exuberant and eager. _Adorable._ Link can’t push the thought away. He simply accepts it and refuses to explore it any further.

“Happy Solstice, Link!” She beams.

Link lowers his eyes to the parcel in her outstretched hands. His eyebrows raise and he meets her eyes questionably.

“For you!” She looks down, cheeks tinted with pink. Link ignores the rush of heat in his own cheeks. She actually got him a present? 

He grasps the parcel and gently pries it from her hands. “Thank you,” Link repeats with a smile. “You didn’t have to, Princess.”

“Oh yes, I did. Need I remind you that you saved my life, Master Link?”

Link frowns. “We’ve gone over this.”

“I could give you a million other reasons for why you deserve a present, but then we’d be here all night.” The princess rolls her eyes. “Open it!”

Gingerly, Link places the present in his lap and begins to unwrap it. He’d never seen such a nicely wrapped present. Most of the gifts his family had exchanged hadn’t been wrapped at all. The habit always seemed a little excessive to him, but he can’t help but admire the princess’s fine work.

“A book.”

“Yep,” The princess bounces in her chair.

The binding is stiff when he pries it open. But his eyes widen as he spots what’s on the first page. “Is this…?”

The princess nods. There, on the first page of the book, is an image. One Link has a faint recollection of. It was him, Princess Zelda, and the Champions after their inauguration ceremony. None of them look particularly photogenic (besides Urbosa), but the picture summons a swell of warmth to Link’s chest.

Almost timidly, he turns the page. A picture of him and Mipha, taken shortly after the previous photo. Then, there is one of him and Revali, at an archery contest a month or so later.

“I asked Purah to take pictures of the Champions,” the princess offers an explanation. “That album has most of the not-blurry ones, plus a few I added.”

After flipping through a few more pages, Link finds one that Purah definitely hadn’t been around for. It was during their trip to the Spring of Courage when he’d shown a child in Deya Village how to use a sword. There was a rare smile on his face.

Another few pages in, Link finds another. A reverse photo (or selfie, as Purah called them) of him and Zelda on the Irch Plain. Link remembers that day clearly. She tried to have him eat a frog. He could vaguely remember her asking to snap a photo of the two of them later that day when they laid back against the lone tree. They’d been so much closer than he thought.

“I love it,” Link murmurs, “It’s truly irreplaceable.”

“I’m glad,” the princess says, “It took quite a bit of bribery for me to convince Purah to print all those pictures. And there weren’t nearly enough to fill that whole book. So there are plenty of blank pages for you to fill however you want.”

“Swordsmanship might have to step aside,” Link laughed, “Scrapbooking may be my true calling.”

“Who would have guessed?”

Link sets the album aside, intending to finish flipping through it when he returned to his chambers later that night.

“I brought something for you too,” he says, reaching for the pack draped over his shoulder. The princess’s eyes widen as if she is just noticing his baggage.

“Link…” the princess gasps. “You didn’t have to. Your companionship and protection over these last few months are more than enough.”

Link shakes his head. “I’m only returning the favor, Your Highness.”

Princess Zelda flushes. Link looks away, his cheeks warm as he rummages through his bag.

“Close your eyes,” Link says. The princess studies him quizzically but obeys.

Carefully, Link extracts her present from his bag. He places it on the small table close to his chair. A few moments later, soft tinkling music fills the silent space of the princess’s bedroom.

Link watches as her eyes open and settle on the little music box. He knew she recognized the small blue flower immediately, even if it were a mere rendition of it. Her eyes widen in wonder.

“Oh Link,” she exclaims, “It’s beautiful. How did you…?”

“I asked one of my Zora friends to craft it. I merely collected the materials they needed.”

Princess Zelda pulls her eyes away from the music box and settles them on Link. “Still. It’s a Silent Princess. I can’t believe you remembered!”

Link grins. “I had to describe the details of the flower to Dento many times. But I think he did a good job.”

“He did,” the princess’s eyes drift back to the music box.

They sit in comfortable silence, listening to the twinkling chimes. Link allows himself to watch the princess while she is mesmerized by the music box. He doesn’t expect her to turn and catch him in the act. Link stiffens, all too aware of how he must look. One hand propped up beneath his chin, his eyes warm as he gazed upon her.

“Link,” the princess murmurs as the song trickles to an end. “Dance with me.”

She waits for an answer. Link almost forgets to give her one. He thought she must have known that there is no way his answer could be anything other than yes. There was little he could deny her. And a selfish part of him had secretly hoped she would ask. If not tonight, then at one of the balls during the festival.

“Of course, Princess.”

Link stands as Princess Zelda rewinds her music box. The music is revived, once again filling the silence. Link extends a hand to the princess, which she takes without hesitation. He pulls her closer, and when she makes no sound of protest, he drapes his free arm around her waist.

She raises her eyes, meeting his with a hint of shyness. He manages his own shy smile. Together, they spin in time with the quiet music. Link cherishes the warmth of her body, so close to his. He thanks Hylia for these months besides his princess she granted him. Truly, he wished he could convey his true feelings to her. If he could simply wipe away the tears that she never let fall, or hold her hand under the scrutinizing gazes of the courtiers, then perhaps he could ease some of her worries. Perhaps he could make her as happy as she made him.

But he knew that was only an innocent, foolish dream. So he held her close and cherished this moment. Goddess knows if he will ever be allowed to hold her again.

~~~

Link stood numbly on the archway between Princess Zelda’s bedroom and study. He would have stood there longer if it weren’t for the telltale beeping of the Guardian S as it Skywatcher back around the tower.

He hurries across the archway and ducks into her bedroom. Carefully, he descends from the second level into the main room. His gaze frantically roams around the room, searching for any hint of the scene he’d recalled. He wished to know what happened when Zelda pulled herself from his arms, or he stepped away, or…

Zelda. Not “Princess.” She’d never just been his princess.

Link curls his arms around his shoulders, binding himself in a tight embrace. He counts down from ten, desperately wishing to rein in his scattered thoughts. Why did he have to remember this _now_ He would see her again, if the Goddesses were kind, in a few short hours.

He would face her with nothing but the pieces of himself he clung to so desperately. Would she see him the same Link who’d gifted her that music box? Would she be willing to help him remember the parts of himself he’d forgotten?

Yes. Above all, Zelda was kind. She would tell him. He only wished there could be something he could give her in exchange.

His hollow laugh echoes throughout the ruined room. He really hadn’t changed, had he? 

Link counts down twice more until the memory has withdrawn to the recesses of his mind. He would drag it back up later when he had time to mull over the thoughts and feelings of past-him.

Right now, he grounds himself in the present. He would save her. Not just for himself, but all of Hyrule. Hyrule deserved to feel its princess’s smile once again, and she deserved to smile without restraint. Whatever would befall him in the next few hours, Link swore that he would save her. After all, Silent Princesses grew best in the wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha. Did I write a (very) last minute Zelink holiday fanfic? Yes. Was it trash? Not really. So yay, I decided to post it. Congrats everybody we made it through 2020. I hope you enjoy this fic! Happy Holidays!
> 
> The second part will be posted sometime in the next few days, but maybe not until after Christmas. We'll see.


End file.
